Amy Yasbeck

Name	Amy Yasbeck
Birthname	Amy Marie Yasbeck
Birthdate	September 12, 1962
Birthplace	Blue Ash, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Yearsactive	1985-present

Amy Marie Yasbeck (born September 12, 1962) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her role as Casey Chapel Davenport on the sitcom Wings from 1994-1997.

Early life

Yasbeck was born in Blue Ash, Cincinnati, Ohio, the daughter of Dorothy Murphy (1922–1984), a homemaker, and John Yasbeck (1921–1982), a butcher and grocery store owner. She is of half Irish and half Lebanese descent. As a child, Yasbeck was featured on the package art for the Betty Crocker Easy-Bake Oven. Years later, in 2000, she was presented with a new Easy-Bake Oven on the show I've Got a Secret, for which she was a regular panel member.

She spent her elementary, middle, and high school years at two different Catholic schools: Summit Country Day School and Ursuline Academy. After losing both of her parents, her father from a heart attack and her mother from emphysema, Yasbeck moved to New York.

Career

Yasbeck has had starring roles in the sitcoms Wings, Alright Already, and Life on a Stick and in movies such as , Pretty Woman, Problem Child, Problem Child 2, , The Mask, and also in the movie . She also played the part of Madison the mermaid in the Disney TV movie Splash, Too in 1988. (The role of Madison was originated by Daryl Hannah in the 1984 movie Splash.) She has also guest starred on many television shows over the years.

She played Olivia Reed for two years on the long-running daytime soap opera Days of our Lives. Yasbeck also appeared once on the hit DCOS That's So Raven as the mother of one of the main characters, Chelsea. The episode originally aired on September 22, 2006.

In late 2007, plans surfaced of a potential That's So Raven spinoff featuring Yasbeck and her TSR daughter Chelsea Daniels (Anneliese van der Pol) and their life, with occasional appearances by Raven-Symone. The show was scrapped due to van der Pol signing onto a new Broadway play, and Yasbeck wanting to take a break from acting to focus on her family.

Personal life

Yasbeck is the widow of actor John Ritter, with whom she had worked in several projects. She first met him at director Dennis Dugan's house during a read-through of their 1990 movie Problem Child. According to Yasbeck, Ritter forced her to eat a bagel and cream cheese because he thought she was too thin. He also thought she was too young to play his wife in the movie (Ritter was almost 14 years Yasbeck's senior).

Yasbeck and Ritter also starred together in Problem Child 2 (1991) and guest-starred together in an episode of The Cosby Show which aired in 1991. Ritter also guest-starred on Wings as Yasbeck's estranged husband in the Season Seven episode "Love Overboard". The couple had a daughter, Stella Dorothy, in 1998, and married in 1999.

On September 11, 2003, Ritter died after collapsing on the set of his sitcom, 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter. The cause of death was an aortic dissection stemming from a previously undiagnosed congenital heart defect. The date of his death was their daughter's fifth birthday, the day before Yasbeck's forty-first birthday and six days before their wedding anniversary and his own birthday.

Yasbeck gave her blessing to the continuation of the sitcom, 8 Simple Rules, where it was ultimately decided that Katey Sagal's character would assume the lead role as a widow.

Yasbeck appeared on Larry King Live on June 16, 2008, to discuss heart disease in the wake of television personality Tim Russert's death.

Wrongful death lawsuit

After her husband died, Yasbeck filed a $67 million wrongful death lawsuit against Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center and several doctors who treated him, alleging they misdiagnosed his condition and that contributed to his death. Several of the defendants have settled out of court for a total of $14 million, including Providence St. Joseph, which settled for $9.4 million. On March 14, 2008, a jury split 9-3 in favor of the doctors, clearing the physicians of any wrongdoing.

Filmography

{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 90%;" |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" ! colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Film |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" ! Year ! Film ! Role ! Other notes |- | 1987 | | Jana | |- | rowspan="2"|1990 | Pretty Woman | Elizabeth Stuckey | |- | Problem Child | Florence "Flo" Healy | |- | 1991 | Problem Child 2 | Annie Young | |- | 1992 | The Nutt House | Diane Nutt | |- | 1993 | | Maid Marian | |- | 1994 | The Mask | Peggy Brandt | |- | rowspan="2"|1995 | Home for the Holidays | Ginny Johnson Drewer | |- | | Mina Seward | |- | rowspan="2"|1998 | Denial | Claudia | |- | The Odd Couple II | Stewardess | |- |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" ! colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | Television |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- | 1985 | Rockhopper | Sonia Petrova | Unsold CBS TV-Pilot |- | 1986–1987 | Days of our Lives | Olivia Reed | |- | rowspan="4"|1987 | Dallas | Mary Elizabeth | Episode: A Death in the Family Episode: The Ten Percent Solution |- | Spies | Margo | Episode: Right or Wrong |- | Werewolf | Deidra | Episode: Nothing Evil in These Woods |- | J.J. Starbuck | Doreen | Episode: Pilot |- | 1987–1988 | Magnum, P.I. | Diana | |- | rowspan="2"|1988 | China Beach | Airplane Stewardess | Episode: Pilot |- | Splash, Too | Madison Bauer | ABC TV-Movie |- | rowspan="4"|1989 | Trenchcoat in Paradise | Nan Thompson | CBS TV-Movie |- | Murphy Brown | Young Lady in Bar | Episode: Why Do Fools Fall in Love? |- | Little White Lies | Vicki | NBC TV-Movie |- | Generations | Carla | |- | rowspan="2"|1990 | Midnight Caller | Mary Lou Harper | Episode: The Hostage Game |- | Poochinski | Frannie Reynolds | Unsold NBC TV-Pilot |- | 1990, 1993 | Matlock | Model Lauren Chadwick Cheryl Atkinson | Episode: The Cover Girl Episode: The Debt |- | rowspan="3"|1991 | Murder, She Wrote | Connie Canzinaro | Episode: Family Doctor |- | Dillinger | Elaine | ABC TV-Movie |- | The Cosby Show | Alicia Evans | |- | rowspan="3"|1992 | Get a Life | Evelyn | Episode: Girlfriend 2000 |- | Designing Women | Tiffany | Episode: A Little Night Music |- | Quantum Leap | Frankie Washarskie | Episode: Stand Up |- | 1993 | Street Justice | Nancy | Episode: The Wall |- | rowspan="2"|1994 | | Karen Davis | |- | Dave's World | Julie | Episode: The Funeral |- | 1994–1997 | Wings | Casey Chapel Davenport | |- | 1995 | Platypus Man | Wendy | Episode: Pilot |- | rowspan="2"|1996 | Bloodhounds II | Sharon | TV-Movie |- | Sweet Dreams | Laura Renault | NBC TV-Movie |- | 1997–1998 | Alright Already | Renee | |- | 1998 | Dead Husbands | Betty Lancing | TV-Movie |- | 1999 | It's Like, You Know... | Karen | Episode: The Sweet Smell of Success |- | 2002 | House Blend | Sally Harper | TV-Pilot |- | 2003 | Just Shoot Me! | Skyler | |- | 2005 | Life on a Stick | Michelle Lackerson | |- | 2006 | That's So Raven | Joni Daniels | |- | 2007 | Shorty McShorts' Shorts | Danielle | Voice Role |- | 2008 | The Daniel Family Chronicles | Joni Daniels | Main role Episode: (4 filmed) |- | 2010 | Hot in Cleveland | Hailey Nash | Episode: The Sex That Got Away |}

Books

References

External links

Category:1962 births Category:Living people Category:Actors from Ohio Category:American film actors Category:American soap opera actors Category:American television actors Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American people of Lebanese descent Category:People from Cincinnati, Ohio Category:University of Detroit Mercy alumni